Central States Intercollegiate Conference

The Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC) was an American intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1976 to 1989.^[1] It was known to be one of the toughest NAIA conferences in the nation.^[2]

Central States Intercollegiate Conference

Association	NAIA
Founded	1976
Ceased	1989
Sports fielded	8 men's: 6 women's: 6
Division	I
No. of teams	8

History

In 1976, four members from the Great Plains Athletic Conference decided to move away from that conference, which was affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and form the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC). Those were Fort Hays State College (now Fort Hays State University), Kansas State College of Emporia (now Emporia State University), Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) and Washburn University. Other institutions who joined the CSIC were Kearney State College (now the University of Nebraska at Kearney) and Wayne State College, who competed in the Nebraska College Conference; and Missouri Southern State College (now Missouri Southern State University) and Missouri Western State College (now Missouri Southern State University), who competed as NAIA independents.^[3][4]

In 1987, all institutions in the CSIC applied for NCAA membership,^[5] with the announcement of four schools Missouri Southern, Missouri Western, Pittsburg State and Washburn already becoming a member of the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA, now the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association), effective beginning in the 1989–90 school year.^[6][7]

Member schools

Final members

The CSIC consisted of eight members:^[8][9]

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Subsequent conference(s)	Current conference
Emporia State University[a]	Emporia, Kansas	1863	Public	5,887	Hornets & Lady Hornets	1976	1989	NAIA/D-II Independent (1989–91)	Mid-America (MIAA)[b] (1991–present)
Fort Hays State College[c]	Hays, Kansas	1902		14,658	Tigers			Rocky Mountain (RMAC)[b] (1989–2006)	Mid-America (MIAA)[b] (2006–present)
Missouri Southern State University[d]	Joplin, Missouri	1937		6,229	Lions			Mid-America (MIAA)[b] (1989–present)
Missouri Western State University[e]	St. Joseph, Missouri	1915		5,388	Griffons			Mid-America (MIAA)[b] (1989–present)
University of Nebraska at Kearney[f]	Kearney, Nebraska	1905		7,504	Lopers			Rocky Mountain (RMAC)[b] (1989–90;[g] 1994–2012) NAIA/D-II Independent (1990–94)	Mid-America (MIAA)[b] (2012–present)
Pittsburg State University[h]	Pittsburg, Kansas	1903		7,102	Gorillas			Mid-America (MIAA)[b] (1989–present)
Washburn University	Topeka, Kansas	1865		7,971	Ichabods & Lady Blues			Mid-America (MIAA)[b] (1989–present)
Wayne State College	Wayne, Nebraska	1910		4,202	Wildcats			Rocky Mountain (RMAC)[b] (1989–90[g]) NAIA/D-II Independent (1990–98)	Northern Sun (NSIC)[b] (1998–present)

Notes

1. Formerly known as Kansas State College of Emporia until 1977.
2. Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.
3. Formerly known as Fort Hays State College until 1977.
4. Formerly known as Missouri Southern State College until 2003.
5. Formerly known as Missouri Western State College until 2005.
6. Formerly known as Kearney State College until 1991.
7. Provisional member status.
8. Formerly known as Kansas State College of Pittsburg until 1977.

Membership timeline

Sports

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Football	Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Track & Field	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y